DreamWanderer - The Lost Avenger
by FuzzyBeta
Summary: When Thanos snaps his fingers, half the world disappears and so do most of the Infinity Stones. Armed with the Time Stone, Via Summers must go back and stop the Infinity War before it happens. There's just one hitch; Thanos still has the Soul Stone and has erased her from existence. Will Via mend the fabric of time, or will the Mad Titan destroy her universe once and for all?
1. 1 - The Snap

**Chapter 1: The Snap**

There is shuffling as a young teenage girl sat down on the old ornate couch in a dimly lit room in the middle of the night.

Her young face was pale as parchment, stained with blood, dirt and sweat. Her blue eyes were puffy and red from all the tears she has been shedding for hours. Even as she readied the strange handheld smartphone for the video she was about to take on its tripod, her fingers shook and trembled.

"Come on, just press the button" she sighed to herself as finally she positioned the phone and pressed the red record button before pulling back to sit on the couch.

"Alright…here we go."

 _Uh…hi…_

 _If you're watching this video log, then it means that I'm either dead and you've found my phone in the wake of the second apocalypse. Or that I'm dead and you've seen my phone after my plan has worked and everyone's living happily ever after. Either way, if you're watching this, I'm most probably dead._

 _My name is Via. I'm seventeen years old, in my last year in high school and I am an Avenger. Or at least I was…till a few hours ago. I'm what people call the Spider Sorceress, a champion of the Dream Dimension that protects people from nightmares. I'm also a relic hunter, which is…well, it's kinda what you get if you cross Indiana Jones, Lara Croft and Harry Potter altogether. I pretty much track down and bring in magical artefacts before they fall into the hands of the wrong people, namely other dark sorcerers._

 _But before I was a hero, I was just a penniless street orphan with nothing save the clothes on my back, two dragon bracelets, a tin cup and a name, Olivia Freyja Summers._

 _Then one day I was taken in from the rain by an old sorceress called Fala. She gave me a cup of tea, and a strange little magic dreamcatcher called the Web of Asibikaashi before sending me out into the world. Then I was hunted down by a rogue sorcerer before being saved and taken in by the most powerful sorceress in the world, the Ancient One, or as I knew her, Naela._

 _Long story short, the rogue sorcerer returned to finish the job, and the Ancient One died, but not before entrusting my safety to her successor, my legal guardian, my mentor … Doctor Stephen Strange._

 _*gulps and sighs*_

 _Alright, okay. I got this. I can do this. I won't cry._

 _Argh! Goddammit!_

 _I'm sorry *snivels and coughs* give me a second…It's been a very long day._

 _Who'd have thought it huh? That one purple skinned bastard could change everything with just one snap of his finger…_

* * *

 ** _Titan – Ten hours ago_**

Via Summers stared at the rocky ground before her as her legs buckled beneath her.

She could not believe it. All that fighting, all the bloodshed, the sweat, the bruises and the beatings…all for nought.

She shut her eyes as she heard a scuffling sound behind her, unable to bear to watch as a man with brown hair and a goatee held on tight to the young teenage boy he cradled in his arms.

"I don't want to go. I don't want to go, sir, please. I don't want to go; I don't want to go."

"It's okay, kid. It's okay" the man with the goatee mumbled under his breath as he laid the boy to the ground gently.

Even as the boy's head hit the ground, he looked fearfully up at the man with wide, pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

Via looked up from where she sat with watering eyes. The bearded man was hunched on the ground just a couple of feet away, a blue-skinned woman in a red suit and cybernetic enhancements standing just a little way behind him. Both were looking down into the man's arms where a cloud of dust was beginning to float back down to the rock beneath.

"He did it" the woman with blue skin murmured, and though her face was stoic and unmoving, her voice shook ever so slightly.

There was a soft crunching sound, and the bearded man raised his head as Via reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a vice-like hug.

Tony Stark was silent as he returned the embrace, only to pull back as he felt something warm seep into his body.

He looked down and saw her palm resting over the wound in his gut from where Thanos had stabbed him.

A golden web of energy was seeping out through her fingers, interlacing and weaving its way around the wound even as she removed her hand. He stayed still as she wrapped her arm around his back and pressed her glowing hand into the other side of the stab wound.

His flesh all but burned as the healing spell worked its way through his body, stitching together the broken, damaged tissue together bit by bit. It wouldn't completely heal the injury, but it would buy him time till they could get proper help.

But that didn't matter to him as he and the young teenage girl leaned into one another and buried their faces into each other's shoulders.

It was over.

They had lost.

* * *

 **Wakanda (Earth) - Eight hours ago**

Via stared around at the Wakandan palace council room

She had just used her sling ring to teleport herself Tony and the blue-skinned alien woman, (whom she had learned was called Nebula), back to Earth. She hadn't even meant to go to the magnificent if the slightly war-torn capital of Wakanda. The sling ring just led where her heart wanted her to go. And right now she just wanted to find the rest of her friends, to see for herself if they were all alright.

But they weren't.

Many had vanished in the snap. More casualties in a war nobody wanted yet knew would come.

Now only a few remained, all of whom were in the council room sitting or standing in silence as they listened to everyone's recount of the battle with Thanos.

Herself, Tony Stark, Nebula all sat on one side along with a strange talking racoon called Rocket. Opposite them were Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner and James "Rhodey" Rhodes and Thor.

Then seated at a throne at the head of the council chamber, was the tall, dark-skinned Wakandan Queen Mother Ramonda. She was looking down into her folded hands, her proud, regal face statuesque even in her grief. On one side stood her teenage daughter Shuri. The young girl was still crying, tears streaming down her face as she pursed her wobbling lips as she desperately tried, but failed, to hold herself together. On the other side of the throne, a dark bald warrior woman garbed in red was also crying, though her tears were silent and she kept her face just as stoic as her Queen's.

Then suddenly the silence was broken as Steve suddenly spoke up.

"So what do we do now?"

"What can we do?" Natasha muttered, eyes strangely misty and distant "We lost…Thanos has all the stones."

"Come on; there has to be something we can do" Rhodey looked around at them all desperately.

Usually, Via would've agreed with him. As Stephen Strange always told her, there was always something that could be done.

 _Except Stephen's not here anymore…and neither is Peter…nor that Quill guy and his mates, or Bucky, or Loki, or T'Challa, or Vision or Wanda or Sam…_ _So many lives lost and for what?_

She could feel the tears start to stream from her eyes again. But she didn't sob. She just stared down blankly at the floor and let them fall. Everything in her body was aching. Tendons, nerves, even the blood cells in her veins were moving sluggishly. She was just so-

"So freaking tired."

She hadn't noticed she had said the words aloud until the last word passed her lips.

Everyone turned to look at her, their faces just as sad and sympathetic.

Even the Racoon standing next to her legs was nodding in agreement.

"Kid's gotta point." He muttered as he looked down to his dirty, bloodstained fur and bodysuit. "We can't do nothin' if we're all crapped out like this."

"I think we should listen to the rabbit and all get some rest," Thor grunted.

"You are all welcome to stay and recuperate here in the palace" the Queen Mother mumbled hoarsely from her throne turning to the warrior woman beside her. "Okoye show the injured to the medical wing and then get some rest yourself. Shuri and I will look after our other guests."

"Of course, my Queen" Okoye gulped down on a lump in her throat as she strode forward to one of the chairs where Tony was sitting, clutching at his side. Via's healing spell had stopped the bleeding and had lessened some of the damage, but it still needed medical attention. He let the woman help him to his feet, a battered Bruce coming up quickly to help support his weight.

Natasha was quick to follow them; her usually calm calculated cat-like walk now marred by the profound limp of her left foot.

"Thank you for your hospitality, your majesty. Especially at such a…such a terrible time" Steve bowed his head respectfully to the Queen Mother of Wakanda who shook her head.

"It's the least we can do, for you and your friends Captain Rogers" Queen Ramonda nodded stiffly, and now it was clear for all to see the grief in her wise, kind eyes as she led them all out of the room. Shuri walked beside her, or rather shuffled, beside her, for all the energetic spring in her step had all but vanished in the wake of the day's traumatic events.

Via couldn't blame her. She too felt like all the stuffing had been knocked out of her as Thor wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders. With a gentle squeeze, he steered her to keep walking with the rest of the group.

It was a comforting weight, and she didn't hesitate to lean into his side, rubbing what she hoped were soothing circles around the thunder god's back

His face looked more worn out than she'd ever seen it, and for the first time, he honestly did look like he was over fifteen-hundred years old.

Nobody said a word as they were each led to a private guest room.

After a quick mumble of goodnight to Thor and the others, Via shut the door to her room and all but collapsed on the beautiful, luxurious bed, in the middle of the equally stunning room which was more like an apartment or hotel suite than anything.

But she didn't have the energy to marvel at the beauty of the space around her as she started to slip into darkness and exhaustion. Had she been more alert she might've noticed the small green glow that had suddenly appeared in her fist even as she clenched tightly at the blankets over her.

* * *

 _Sorry about that guys. y'know about the crying and all that *sniff* It's just been so…well…you've seen what it's been like, it's been tough._

 _I've lost more in this one day then I've ever done in my previous battles. Once again, I'm an orphan, though thankfully I won't be spending my days in the streets and on top of that more than half my friends are probably dead or worse._

 _Which brings me to why I'm creating this video log._

 _You see, earlier tonight something, uh, happened. Something huge that literally is going to change the course of history forever as we know it._

 _Had I not been a sorcerer I might've thought I was finally cracking after years of dealing with all this crazy shit. Even now I can barely believe any of this is happening._

 _It all started with, well, how it usually starts for me, with a dream._

* * *

Via stared at the space she was standing in. It was dark and quiet and empty. It was like someone had put her in a seamless black box, lit only by a strange glowing green eye shaped mandala at her feet.

The symbols in the great spell beneath her were all familiar, though she couldn't for the life of her remember where she had seen them before. Then it hit her. They looked very similar to the runes etched on the Eye of Agamotto.

She knelt to examine them more closely, eyes shutting as she traced the mandala pattern blindly with her fingertips. The magic was ancient and powerful, but the life force connected with the spell…it was unmistakable.

 _But it couldn't be._

Her throat went very dry as her eyes began to water again. This surely was just a dream?

There was no way this was happening. There was no way he was contacting her through her dreams. To do that he'd have to be alive!

"Olivia?" the familiar voice of a man spoke from behind her back.

"Stop it. This isn't real. You're dead. I saw you vanish into dust." she whispered, eyes still shut even as she stood back up to her feet. She couldn't bear to open them. This was just a nightmare, she was sure of it.

It was a nightmare in which she would turn around and see him, and he would vanish into dust. She'd gone through too much today already. To watch the closest thing she had to family disappear for a second time was just too much to bear.

"Olivia…it's me."

She felt his hand squeeze her shoulder and then and there she just knew that it was real. His large, warm, rough hand that trembled ever so slightly even as she reached up to hold it in hers. She knew its comforting grip so well. She knew every crease, every scar and every fingerprint.

She still didn't open her eyes as she turned around and caught the hands' owner in a tight hug, which was returned after a moment of surprised hesitation.

"I'm sorry" Doctor Stephen Strange murmured into her blonde curls as she buried her face into his blue robes.

"No, you aren't!" Via snapped through tearful eyes as she leaned back to slap his chest, half torn between tears of laughter and joy and tears of great grief. "You idiot! You freaking-sunovabitch-demon-monkey's-uncle! You promised me you wouldn't sacrifice yourself like that again until I was at least moved out to college!"

"Well It was either that or let the world end, so can you blame me" Stephen smirked, but she could see the sadness reflected in his pale eyes as he held her at arms-length.

"You jerk! How are you alive? Where are you? Are you okay?" she asked desperately patting him down roughly.

"I'm not dead _yet_ if that is what you're asking" Stephen snorted with gentle amusement "As far as I'm concerned I'm still on Titan waiting for Thanos to come to us."

"Wait…so…this is you from the past?" Via spluttered in surprise. "But how-You know what never mind it's probably some weird shit you haven't taught me yet and-"

She stopped quickly and looked back down at the green symbol on the floor.

"The Eye of Agamotto. Yep, weird shit it is then." she shook her head with a sigh, her hands resting on either side of his head. "Let me guess…you're still scrying through time looking for a solution."

"Yes," Stephen nodded as he pulled her hands down from his face. "And that solution is you."

"Huh?" she blinked as he quietly led her into the centre of the glowing green eye on the floor.

"Come on. We haven't got much time" With a wave of his hands the dark space was filled with sounds and images. It was like standing in the middle of a cinema with four walls and no seats.

On one of the walls, she could see a large purple figure was sitting up at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a beautiful mountainous panorama glowing gold and pink with the rising of the sun.

"Thanos…" Via growled as she caught sight of the hulking purple figure's face.

 _That murdering bastard!_

Oh, how tempting it was to storm up to him and rip his head off with her bare hands. However, she was stopped as Stephen suddenly held her back.

"Whoa, hold your horses' kid, take a closer look" Stephen murmured, as he pointed at the mad Titan.

Via squinted at the image as she caught sight of the golden gauntlet over her enemy's left hand. However, unlike the first time she had seen the artefact, its metal was scarred and heavily scratched and dented. It looked like someone had taken a massive sledgehammer to tin-foil. But the piece-de-resistance was the lack of glimmering gems embedded into the mostly empty and dented ovoid holes in the gauntlet.

"Wait, where are the stones?" she glanced at Stephen who was smirking grimly.

"Look in your right hand."

Via glanced down at her hand and gasped as she caught sight of her palm. She couldn't see a stone there, but her skin was glowing a bright, eerie green.

"But how-why?" she shook her head as she turned to face another screen to her left. In it she could see herself, lying in a heap on the bed she'd only just fallen asleep in. There in her palm, encased in something metallic, the Time Stone was glowing.

"According to the future's I've seen, the only way we can win is if I place a curse on the Infinity stones to separate them across time and space once he's used the gauntlet" Stephen explained, his smirk falling away as he eyed Thanos yet again. "The fact that you're here now is proof that the plan has worked, However…"

"However?" Via bit her lip anxiously as she was turned once again to face the image of Thanos, who was still sitting and admiring the sunrise before him.

And there, glimmering in the light of the rising star in the sky, an amber stone glimmered faintly over the pinkie-finger of the gauntlet.

"The soul stone" she breathed.

"He managed to hold onto it" Stephen muttered darkly.

"But why? What happened?" Via stared wide-eyed as the Mad Titan began twisting and turning his gauntlet over, rage starting to contort his purple skin.

"That Gamora woman that he sacrificed to get the stone, the woman those intergalactic morons came to save. I'm betting it's because of that sacrifice and his love for her that the soul stone stayed bonded to him. Just as the time stone attached to you because of our bond" Stephen held her green glowing palm in his own scarred hand.

"And let me guess, that bond between the two of them is causing problems?" Via narrowed her eyes at her mentor.

"Yes. You see without the Time Stone at his disposal, Thanos technically cannot travel back in time to directly change things. But the soul stone is connected to all the souls in the universe at any given time so-"

"So while he can't physically travel back in time, he can still subtly manipulate people across time and space through the use of the soul stone?" Via murmured.

"Yes," Stephen nodded grimly. "Even now as we speak he is trying to influence the souls of the past. He is weak now so the changes he makes won't be too drastic. But once he's regained his strength-"

"-The changes will get worse-" Via breathed.

"And the future you currently exist in, the future in which we can win will eventually vanish too and…" Stephen trailed off as he glanced at his ward, eyes softening with sadness.

She didn't need a mind reader to know exactly what he was thinking.

"You want me to go back in time to fix things don't you?" she muttered running a hand over her face "Oh god Stephen I'm just an apprentice-"

"Olivia, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't believe you could." he rested his hand on her shoulder, a gentle, reassuring weight.

"I'm just one kid." Her voice was almost as small as a mouse.

"I know. But I've seen the outcomes of this mission and of all the people that tried, you were the only one who succeeded. Even I couldn't set things right, and I'm supposed to be the Sorcerer Supreme."

There was a silence as the strange scrying screens around them all suddenly switched off leaving them bathed in the darkness and green mandala that still glowed on the floor.

"What will I have to do?" she sighed in defeat, much to Stephen's relief and sorrow.

"I'm afraid that's for you to find out. If I tell you what will happen, we risk derailing everything even further. But I can say this. It's not going to be easy."

"When is it ever easy?" Via snorted, trying and failing to smile. "But seriously, you've got to give me something to work with Doc."

Stephen was silent as he pulled his thoughts over, fingers fidgeting and flexing as was his custom when anxious.

When he finally spoke, however, his voice was quite steady and resolved.

"Now that Thanos has started to manipulate the timestream, this current universe we live in has been split in two. The one you're in now, and the one he's manipulating. Now you remember what I told you about what happens when you try to split the fabric of time?"

"Yeah, it tries to stitch itself back together" Via frowned down at her glowing green hand. "But why me? What could I possibly do to set things right? I wasn't born till the twenty-first century, if I'm spotted, like, two hundred years ago won't I be polluting the timeline?"

"Thanos has already started to do that with his meddling." Stephen swallowed down a large gulp, and she could see the slight waver in his usually steady pale gaze. "And because of that, that you might never be born…" he shut his eyes and shook his head. "Olivia, even the tiniest of strings can make such a difference in a tapestry. Thanos knows this, that's why he wants to delete you from the picture. He knows that when the going gets tough, you'll be there at the end to meet him with a sledgehammer. Which is why _you_ need to be there to stop him before he changes everything."

"Yeah, because I, a seventeen-year-old sorcerer's apprentice who's not even out of high school, could totally stop a mad titan with a sledgehammer."

"You sound sarcastic but knowing your luck you could probably pull it off" Stephen smirked.

"You're just saying that because you're trying to butter me up to go and do your dirty work, lazy bastard." Via rolled her eyes waspishly.

"Damn, what gave it away?" his smirk widened as she narrowed her eyes at him.

However, behind her exasperation, he could see the fear and affection welling in her bright blue eyes even as they suddenly became wet with unshed tears.

"Olivia" Stephen's gaze softened as she reached out to hug him tight to her again.

"I'm sorry, it's just, what if I fail? What if I can't stop Thanos? I don't want to lose you again" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"You won't. I know you won't." Stephen stroked a hand through her long blonde curls soothingly, "You are one of the bravest, most compassionate people I know. And if there's anyone I would trust to do this it's you."

How long they stood there hugging, Via did not know. Nor did she care. For the past few years, this man had been the closest thing to family she'd ever known. The thought of him being deleted from history was more than she could bear, more so than even having herself erased from history.

She was reluctant to let go, even as he made to pull himself away. His eyes two were wet with unshed tears, though he was strong enough to keep them in check as he mumbled:

"Okay…now we really need to get a move on." He quickly wiped at his eyes with his sleeve before scrubbing at her face. "Now come on. You need to wake up and start your mission. Take a deep breath."

Via nodded, as she shook out her body and sucked in a deep if slightly raspy breath.

"Now before you go there's something you should know about the Time Stone." Stephen held up her right palm, which was still glowing green. "Listen carefully, the stone you have is no longer contained by the Eye of Agamotto. Now you may have magic, but you're still just a human, you can't hold the stone with your bare hands, hence why you're currently holding it in the blanket. But obvoiusly you can't keep it there, so you need to find something to put it on so you can use it to make portals."

"Right, like a sling ring?" Via straightened up as she tried to focus on his voice and less on her grief.

"Yes, exactly." Stephen exhaled heavily, "However be careful. A sling ring is not as powerful a container as the Eye of Agamotto, so whenever you use the time stone, it will drain you of your magic."

"Which means that I'll have to wait a while before using it to jump to the next point in time," Via grunted bitterly.

"Exactly." Stephen pursed his lips as he took a step back from her, much to her alarm.

"Wait-what that's it?" she spluttered eyes wide with fear as the glowing mandala beneath her feet began to glow brighter than ever "But-but you haven't explained what I'm supposed to do. How the hell do you expect me to fix this? Stephen!"

"I'm sorry Olivia, I wish I could tell you everything, but the more time we waste here, the more time Thanos has to destroy everything" Stephen shouted as the deep hum of mystic energy rose around his young ward who glared at him through fresh tears.

"No-wait, Stephen-" she called out, but already she could see him starting to fade from her vision. "You old bastard! When I get my hands on you-"

"Oh come on. You know you love me" he smirked, though one tear betrayed him as it fell down his cheek.

"You're right I do love you, you stupid jerk!" she shouted at him as she began to fade. "And when I set things right I'll see you again I'm gonna punch that damn goatee of yours right into the astral plane and-"

"I love you too kid. Good luck…" he murmured.

"STEPHEN!" But it was too late she had already vanished in a flash of green, plunging the sorcerer supreme into total and absolute darkness.

* * *

 _So there. Now you know why I'm making this video log._

 _My deceased mentor slash surrogate father has decided oh-so-helpfully, to assign me the duty of fixing the universe before Thanos destroys it…again._

 _Sounds like a piece of cake huh?_

 _Damn it, Stephen! Of all the times to put your blind faith in me, it had to be now._

 _Don't get me wrong; I'd do anything to keep him and the others from being destroyed…but I'm still just one kid and let's face it; it's not like there's a "Saving the Universe for Dummies" book that I could follow, right?_

 _*Sighs and shakes head*_

 _Oh well, it's too late to turn back now. I've already fused the Time stone I have to my sling ring. I don't know much about Chronomancy (or what you might call Time magic), but from what Stephen's taught me, I cannot let the stone I carry, touch any of the Infinity stones from this alternate timeline, especially another time stone. To do that would unravel the very fabric of time itself and that would spell out disaster._

 _I know, I know, it sounds complicated, ridiculous and weird. Truth be told I'm not even sure what will happen to me when I use the stone like this. All I know is that, wherever I drop, I'm going to be powerless for a bit before I can travel again. Heck, I don't even know where I'm supposed to leap back first._

 _Do I go back to the beginning of time or maybe even before Thanos was born or at least before he became a radical genocidal maniac?_

 _God if I met a young Thanos…I honestly don't know what I'd do? Would I kill him?_

 _No that would be too extreme. Also if I did that, I'd probably cause more damage than good. As much as it pains me to admit this, Thanos's existence might be necessary for making the world I know today._

 _Argh! Damn you Stephen damn you! That bloody bastard should be thankful that I love him so much or else I would be going back in time to punch him in the face before he sacrificed himself, AGAIN!_

 _Seriously the amount of time's he's pulled this shit on me-ugh!_

 _*Beep, Beep*_

 _Well…there goes my timer. It's time to be off. Travelling back in time. To stop a mad titan before he obliterates time itself._

 _Yeah…this is going to be easy as pie._

 _Actually, it probably isn't going to be easy, and who knows, maybe I'll land in a place where pie has not even been invented yet._

 _But enough about me and my ramblings. I've got a mission to fulfil. So wish me luck, because quite frankly I don't know if I will ever make it back, and even if I do, nothing will ever be the same._

 _All because one stupid bastard snapped his fingers._

 _*sighs and wipes a tear away*_

 _Goodbye, everyone. I hope this works…for all your sakes._

* * *

Via Summers scrubbed hard at her eyes as she turned off the video recording button on her touchscreen phone.

 _Come on Vee; it's time to woman up._

She inhaled deeply as she stood to her feet and walked out of the room and up a set of stairs until she arrived in a large open space. It looked like a mixture of library, museum and a private art collection, with many a strange relic contained in glass cabinets and many books lining the shelves along the walls.

At the end of this room, was a large circular window with strange crisscrossing lines over the top, that was illuminated by the sudden clap of thunder and lightning from the storm outside.

Yes, the Sanctum Sanctorum had not changed much in the time she'd first come to live in it those few years ago, not like the rest of her home city.

 _New York…_

Via looked out the window at the big apple which was shrouded in dark clouds and sheets of rain. To think that all those years ago she was born and left on those dark streets. Now here she was, about to leave them for good, probably forever.

She shut her eyes as they caught sight of the tall shadow of the Avengers tower somewhere in the distance.

This was it. She was going to do it.

She was going to leave this world behind.

And yet even as she ghosted her hand over her hip, she hesitated and looked around. This place…so many memories, both wonderful and sad…It was her home…

 _No. No, I have to do this!_

Her fingers slid into the belt where a sling ring had been hidden in a utility pouch. A golden sling ring with a spider engraved in the flat base and a glowing green stone in the centre.

She didn't know where she was going to go, but it had to be better than what she was leaving behind.

"God I hope this works" she muttered as she held up her hands, and began to make a portal.

Yet instead of the usual amber sparks that came with the spell, her gaze was assaulted by a ring of yellow-green fire that opened onto a dark gaping chasm.

"Don't worry Doc, I'll make it back I promise…you'll see" she muttered, shutting her eyes as with a deep breath, she stepped over the threshold of the portal, and into the darkness.

* * *

 **Hi everyone,**

 **me the author here. So yeah here's chapter 1 of the new fic.**

 **Quick Heads up for all new readers. This is an OC centred Fic, centred on my OC Olivia "Via" Summers the "protege" of Doctor Strange**

 **You can find out more about her origin story from my Fic "Dreamcatcher - Rise of the Spider Sorceress" however you don't have to read that first to read the rest of this fic as most of the info in there will at some point be repeated sometime in the course of this story. It's not a sequel, more like a spin-off inspired by the ending of Infinity War and basically covers all movies in the MCU. However, because there is no BIG crossover umbrella for all MCU stuff, it will remain in the Avengers section so here goes.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy the fic and I wish you happy reading, and please review your thoughts**

 **Cheers**


	2. 2 - Behind Enemy Lines

**Chapter 2: Behind Enemy Lines**

The first thing she was aware of was the feeling of grass beneath her cheek.

Soft, cold, wet grass. And mud. A lot of slimy, sludgy mud.

Now that she thought about it she could feel large drops splattering down onto her exposed arms.

"Crap" she grunted as with a gargantuan effort she rolled her body over to her back and opened her bright eyes.

There was a dark canopy of trees above her head, through which droplets of rain pelted down heavily. Between the small gaps in the canopy, she could see flashes of bright white light as lightning crackled.

She wondered vaguely in her disoriented head if Thor was waging battle in the sky with some unknown entity.

She hoped he was, then at least she knew one ally she might be able to make again.

Her chest ached as memories of the thunder god washed over her mind. Thor might've been a god destined to be king, but he had always treated her kindly, even when she was just a mere scrawny apprentice.

 _I wonder if he's been banished to earth yet?_

Her mind thought hazily. She had never felt so weak in her life.

Everything ached, she could barely move her body. She was surprised that she had the energy to breathe.

She pressed her palm into the muddy ground, shutting her eyes as she desperately tried to feel for a tendril of energy from the earth itself.

 _Come on…come on…that's it…_

She sighed as she felt something warm tingle at her fingertips. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give her the boost she needed to sit up and get to her shaking feet.

When Stephen had said she would be drained of energy, she didn't think she'd be almost half dead from fatigue.

 _Damn, infinity stone._

She cursed as she leaned against a nearby tree and looked down at her left hand. Over her two fingers, her golden sling ring glimmered, wet from the rain. It was golden with a green, ovoid stone set in the centre of what appeared to be an eye with eight spider legs engraved around it.

Well, as far as she could see, the time stone had worked and-

"ACHOO!" she sneezed, snivelling loudly as she shook out her wet, muddy blonde curls.

"Great. Just perfect. I've barely started my mission, and now I'm about to catch pneumonia as I wander through a deserted forest." She grumbled to herself as with ginger steps she stumbled away from the tree and into another one.

Her goings were slow as she trudged through the undergrowth. As far as she could tell she was the only human around for miles. Small animals kept to their holes and burrows as the rain pelted down.

How Via envied them.

What she wouldn't give to be able to turn into a small bird and hide away in the hollow of a tree until the storm had passed.

Unfortunately, she had neither the energy nor the know-how to perform such an advanced shapeshifting spell.

Fortunately, she was quick to find a giant hollowed out tree log, laying on its side. It was old, covered in moss and slightly damp from the rain, but it was a better cover than nothing.

Thanking her lucky stars for her slender build, she crawled her way inside the log. With a huff, she shook her head of wet golden curls out of her mud-covered face, snivelling as she tried her best to warm herself up. It was a tough slog without her magic, and she shivered a lot as she rubbed at her arms. She had hoped that friction would help lessen the goosebumps already starting to form, but it was no use.

She looked down at herself. She was still wearing the clothes she'd worn when leaving though all were stained and covered in grass, rain and mud. A fitted Black sleeveless tunic with matching pants and boots under an azure blue hooded, sleeveless tailcoat jacket with golden lining and stitching. Over her lower arms and hands were a pair of black fingerless skin-tight gloves. A gold belt and a black sash were wrapped around her waist upon which a couple of utility pouches had been tied, which she was quick to sneak her now jacked up Time-Stone-Sling-Ring into. Her twin gold dragon bracelets both sat twisted around her left wrist unscathed despite her current state, much like the golden dreamcatcher necklace that sat around her throat under the collar of her tunic.

All in all, it could've been a lot worse. Then again, she could've been better.

 _Alright, first things first. Rest up. Find out where I am and see about getting some warmer clothes…and hopefully a raincoat…or an umbrella, or really anything._

She bristled as her teeth chattered uncontrollably in her mouth. It was like listening to an annoyingly fast pendulum on an equally irritating sped up grandfather clock. Except no matter how much she tried to stop it, she just couldn't.

 _God, I hope I recuperate soon. Then I could magic myself a disguise or something. Sheesh, just how much is it going to rain-ah!_

She squeaked in surprise as a loud thunderclap disturbed her thoughts. She scowled at herself as she curled into an even tighter ball of blue and blonde.

"Hpmh! Stupid Via. Getting scared of a little thunder." She mumbled to herself, pulling up the damp hood of her coat. It wasn't much, but at least it kept her ears covered.

"God I hate you Stephen."

* * *

"Aussehen! Ich glaube ich habe etwas gefunden." _(Look I think I found something)_

"Was ist es?" _(What is it?)_

"Ich denke, es ist ein Mädchen" _(I think it's a girl)_

"Ein Mädchen? im Baumstumpf?" _(A girl? In the tree stump?)_

"Ja. Hallo! Hey Fräulein. Können Sie mich hören?" ( _Yeah. Hey! Hey miss. Can you hear me?)_

"ich denke, sie ist bewusstlos" _(I think she's unconscious)_

"Wie ist sie dorthin gekommen? Dieses Land ist umzäunt und meilenweit bewacht" _(How did she get there? This land's been fenced off and guarded for miles)_

"Ich kenne. Vielleicht sollten wir sie zurück zur Basis bringen. Lassen Sie den Chef sie ansehen" _(I know. Maybe we should take her back to base. Let the boss have a look at her)_

"Vergiss den Chef, hol sie zuerst zu einem Arzt. Sie verbrennt heiß" _(Forget the boss, get her to a doctor first. She's burning up hot)_

"Huch, du hast Recht. Sie muss in den Sturm geraten sein." _(Yikes you're right. She must've gotten caught in the storm.)_

"Komm schon, Fräulein. Lass uns zurück zur Basis gehen" _(Come on miss. Let's get you back to base)_

"Das sind seltsame Kleider. Denkst du, sie ist einer der Feinde?" _(These are strange clothes. Do you think she's one of the enemies?)_

"Gott, ich hoffe nicht. Das Letzte, was wir brauchen, ist der Chef, der uns alle darauf anspricht, wie eine einzelne Frau durch unsere Verteidigung rutschte" _(God, I hope not. Last thing we need is the boss grilling us all on how a single woman slipped through our defences)_

* * *

Thanos of Titan, glowered angrily as he stared down at the ruined golden gauntlet on his hand. Where there should have been several glittering colourful gems set in ovoid holes, it was empty. Or at least, it was mostly empty.

One orange amber gem remained embedded over the base of the gauntlet's pinkie finger.

This did nothing to temper the mad Titan's growing fury.

That damned sorcerer from Earth! Thanos could almost smell the stench of his power coating the gauntlet in his hand.

 _He must've placed a curse while those other pathetic mortals were holding me._

He turned his golden covered hand over, eyes narrowing as he reached with his mind for the orange stone. He could feel it pulsing with energy, invigorating him, allowing him to feel the breath of every single living soul in the universe.

He shut his eyes, and at once he saw them all in front of his mind's eye. Each figure had its glow, their life force and essence, so vivid and bright. However, one seemed to stand out clearest of all amidst the sea of light.

The core of the being was a bright shimmering gold, and it was slender and smaller than him, with an inviting presence. It was like standing in the middle of a soft, gentle sunbeam.

He reached out with his mind, sighing as he felt the gentle pulses of youthful energy gently wash over him, only to wince as something harsh suddenly pushed back against him.

 _What is that?_

He growled as he saw another aura, this one a vivid very familiar green, suddenly surround the golden figure, pulsing with ancient energy.

 _The Time Stone..._

His lips curled into a snarl as he looked once again on the figure in his mind's eye and saw the familiar face of a young woman with golden curls and bright blue eyes.

 _So, that meddlesome Sorcerer thinks he can send his little child back in time to thwart my plans._

The gauntleted hand clenched into a tight fist.

This was bad.

He was still too weak to move too far on the planet he had landed upon. Using all six Infinity Stones had all but sucked him dry of energy. When he had awoken after the battle on Earth, he had barely been able to move an inch for nearly two whole days.

Had he the other stones he might've been able to recover a lot quicker. At least if he had the Space Stone, he would be able to easily travel through space-time and crush the brat before she went too far and ruined everything for him, if she hadn't done so already.

He grimaced, casting his thoughts back to the battle on Titan. The young girl had barely landed any hit, and even when she did, it was a mere tickle upon his skin. However, what she lacked in experience and brute strength, she made up for in guile and craft.

 _It's always the small ones that do the worst damage._

He snorted to himself, remembering how quietly she had snuck up on him and used those golden webs of energy to trap and hold his legs while those other buffoons had tried to take the gauntlet off him. He had barely heard her move, and his race was well known to have senses far beyond those of ordinary humans and even some Asgardians.

 _It seems I have underestimated you, little one._

Thanos's jaw clenched as he continued to stare down the bright image of the girl in his mind's eye.

 _But not again. One way or another, I will find you, and when I do, I will not hesitate to rip that stone from your cold dead fingers._

* * *

 _Holy crap-holy crap-holy crap! Where the hell am I?_

Via silently panicked as she stared, wide-eyed up at the ceiling. She was laying on a slab, dressed in what appeared to be a white hospital gown. However, this room was not as warm nor as comforting as any hospital she had visited.

For one thing, the walls and ceiling were a disgusting shade of dirty grey. Secondly, she was shackled tight to the slab with metal cuffs around her wrists, upper arms and just above the ankles.

But the pièce de résistance had to be small flag poking out of a pencil holder on a nearby laboratory table — a red flag, with a white circle and a black swastika in the centre.

 _Wait a moment. Black swastika on red flag-HOLY SHIT! NONONONONONONOO! You've got to be kidding me?!_

She almost fainted then and there on the slab, but she sucked in a deep breath as she looked back up at the ceiling.

This was bad. This was very very bad.

Trust her luck to end up in Nazi-freaking-Germany! Or at least, behind Nazi-Freaking-German lines.

The Time Stone could've dumped her behind Allied lines but nooo! Like so many times before, life decided to crap all over her, chew on her and then spit her back out.

She scowled at the artificial light above her. Somewhere in whatever afterlife existed, she could swear that a pale, bald woman in gold robes was smirking smugly down at her with amusement.

 _First the Infinity War, now the Second World War? Seriously, would it kill the Universe to just cut me some slack for once?_

She sighed as she looked down to her chest and saw the Web of Asibikaashi still resting over her breast, while her golden dragon bracelets glimmered on her wrists.

But where was her sling ring?

Her stomach lurched as she thrashed on the slab, doing her best to see around the room for her clothes. Crap! The Time Stone had been in her belt if anyone had seen it-

 _Thank god!_

She sighed in relief as she caught sight of her clothes spread out over another lab table, the contents of her belt neatly laid out above its buckle.

She turned the hand nearest the table over so that her palm was raised and concentrated as hard as she could. It was a hard slog. Her body was still exhausted, but thankfully her reserves of mystic energy seemed to have recovered a little, even if it almost wholly depleted as she summoned the sling ring back into her hand.

With an impeccable speed, it shot straight into her hand, which quickly clenched around it tight just as something creaked behind her.

Shutting her eyes again, she strained her ears to listen as what sounded like a couple of people strode into the room.

 **"So…this is the girl that snuck onto my facility is it?"** a cold yet commanding masculine voice spat in a guttural form of German.

 **"Apparently yes, it is"** another man answered, also in German. However, his tones were softer and gentler than his companion as he strode over to where Via lay.

His touch was careful and precise as he reached down and pressed two fingers against her wrist to feel her pulse.

" **Hmm…Her pulse seems stronger. And her fever has gone down…"** the doctor, or whoever he was, carefully touched her forehead and despite herself, Via found her heart aching horribly in her chest as her thoughts turned to Stephen.

Had he been here to look after her, he would've been fussing over her like a mother hen with a stethoscope, muttering sarcastically under his breath all the while like the grumpy old fart he was.

No sooner had the affectionate thought crossed her mind, did she feel another

She felt a wall of body heat suddenly zoom up by her side, though it felt more menacing than that of the doctor's. It took all she had not to shiver as a large leather gloved hand suddenly plucked a stray golden curl away from her face.

" **Such a lovely specimen. I wouldn't be surprised if she had Nordic blood in her. A shame she is probably one of our enemies."**

 **"Really? She doesn't look like a spy. For one thing, she wasn't exactly dressed to blend in"** the doctor frowned, and the other cold voice chuckled and sneered.

 **"One doesn't need to be a spy to be a threat, doctor. And in any case, look at her body. Such muscle tone can only be attained through vigorous training in hand to hand combat."**

The gloved hand drew away, and Via mentally sighed in relief, only to feel as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been thrown over her as the cold voice suddenly switched to English.

"Isn't that right my dear?"

 _Shit. Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit._

Via froze her breath all but catching in her throat.

"Come on now Fräulein. Open your eyes. We both know you're awake."

Reluctantly Via did what she was told, wincing as the artificial light from above once again blinded her. It was quick to be covered by a shadow, one that made Via's stomach lurch.

He was pale with slightly pointed features and dark brown hair that was slicked back. He was wearing a long black trench coat, buttoned up and fastened around the waist with a black belt with a silver belt buckle. Over each of the shoulders of the jacket was a circular red symbol of a skull from which six tentacles were spewing out from.

 _No way…no f-ing way!_

She gulped as the man sneered down at her, his voice quiet and amused.

"Do you know who I am, Child?"

Of course, she knew who he was. Though she had never met him in person, she had seen his face many times both in the Avengers files and in her history textbooks at school.

Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull himself. The old nemesis of her friend Captain America and the ex- no - _current_ leader of Hydra. But his face, it wasn't red nor skull-like.

 _So wait, hang on, is he the Red Skull yet or is he still just human?_

But was he human? If the horror stories Steve Rogers had told her were right, she was currently face-to-face with one of the cruellest, inhumane madmen of the twentieth century. A madman who would have no trouble dumping her still weak carcass in a gas chamber with a click of his finger.

Via shook her head hoping that her face betrayed none of her true dread.

"Do not bother trying to hide it, child. I can see you are afraid. However, you need not worry. We don't have to be enemies, all you need to do is answer my questions. Do you understand?" Schmidt sneered down at her and Via bristled.

If this offer was meant to ease her mind, it was not working. Answer _his_ questions? If she opened her mouth he'd know at once she was American and then she'd be right and royally screwed.

Seeing her hesitation, Schmidt rolled his eyes and glared down at her angrily.

"I said do you understand girl?"

Via just stayed silent, and though she was afraid, her blue eyes held his gaze with stubborn determination.

He was standing behind her head now, looming over her from behind so that his body blocked out the light above.

Her fingers gripped her sling ring tighter in her palm.

Though he didn't have a red skull, Via could see the gaunt chiselled outlines of his bones from her spot below, a shadow of the real monster that lurked beneath the skin.

"I know you can hear me" he snarled down at her "And we know you can speak. My soldiers heard you murmuring in your sleep. Now either you can I will ask you again Answer me!"

Via bit down on her tongue

Had this been any other interrogation he'd have his prey blubbering all their deepest darkest secrets. But this girl was just stubbornly silent. Was she British? American? Did she belong to any of the Allied nations? Was she a spy?

But as the doctor had said before, she certainly hadn't dressed for spy work. Schmidt frowned as he glanced over to the table where her previous muddy clothes had been folded neatly along with all her other personal effects.

The material was sturdy but lightweight, the blue and gold standing out starkly against the grey of the wall behind. While the sleeveless hooded blue coat was indeed western, her black under tunic and pants were of Oriental design.

Then there were the girl's bracelets on her arms. His officers had tried to take them off her arms earlier, but they hadn't been able to make them budge an inch. It was like they had been glued to her skin. Much like the strange little gold and blue woven pendant, she wore around her pale, slender neck.

Schmidt's dark eyes narrowed as he eyed the two twisting golden dragons on each wrist, nostrils flaring as he caught sight of the small runes etched into their scales. He knew those markings. He had seen them once before. But where?

"Not that talkative are you little Fräulein." He sneered down at her "Well that is no matter. I will get you to talk, one way or another, though I'd much rather I not have to _persuade_ you. You have a pretty face; I'd hate to have to ruin it."

 _Oh my god! Why is it, every time I face a murdering torturing despot they always threaten to mangle my "pretty face" first? You'd think they'd think of something more original to threaten me with for once? I mean, what about my legs, arms or really, anything else?_

Via mentally rolled her eyes, though she managed to keep her mouth shut, despite the desperate urge she felt to spit in said despot's face.

Schmidt's lip curled with frustration. Though she was still clearly terrified of him, something was cunning and calculating about the way she was assessing him.

He didn't like it one bit. He was the interrogator. He should be the one picking her apart piece by piece!

He quickly checked his pocket and pulled out an ornate silver pocket watch with the Nazi eagle embossed upon the back.

"It would seem our little chat will have to wait, Fräulein. I have other important things to attend to. But rest assured, one way or another I will make you talk."

And with that he turned on his heel and strode out of the room, leaving Via and the doctor alone.

As soon as the door was shut behind him, the doctor above her sighed. He was an older man with greying dark hair and beard and thin-rimmed circular glasses. As he looked at his charge his eyes were curious, and his small smile was surprisingly kind, not at all like Schmidt's sneer. For some reason, he too looked oddly familiar, though Via could not pinpoint exactly where she'd seen his face.

She stiffened as he approached her, holding up an old-fashioned thermometer in his hand.

"Now if you wouldn't mind opening your mouth so I can take your temperature," he said softly, though his accent was far smoother and gentler than Schmidt's harsh tones.

Dutifully she opened her mouth and let him check her temperature. After a few years of living with a doctor, she was no stranger to check-ups. Not to mention, she wasn't exactly in any position to refuse medical help…that's If the doctor was going to help her…

As if sensing her apprehension, the man gave her a small amused smirk.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to harm you. You were in a rather bad state when the soldiers brought you in from the rain."

She nodded, still maintaining her silence. The man seemed kindly, and yet downright familiar. In her mind's eye, she could see the face peer out of a page of one of her history textbooks, though the name remained infuriatingly blurred.

He had been on the allies side, she had been sure of it, for the picture she'd seen him in was the one with the American troops.

So then why was he here with Hydra?

Seeing her bewilderment, the doctor's smile softened ever so slightly.

"You're not very talkative, are you. Though I guess, that's understandable given the circumstances. Between you and me, Schmidt isn't exactly the friendliest of captors" he added with a grunt and Via quickly saw his eyes hardened with hatred as he said the madman's name. Even as she looked him over again, she could see the faint bruises around the doctor's wrists, as if he'd been held in tight shackles.

"not friendly is putting it mildly" She sighed before she could stop herself, her slightly raspy voice piercing through the air like a sharp knife.

"Ah…so you're American?" The doctor's smirk widened. "Not quite what I expected but still it's a start. And since you're finally talking, might I ask what your name is?"

"…Freyja. Freyja Sömmers" Via mumbled, hoping against hope that he wouldn't notice her anxious look on her face.

She was never good at lying, though technically she was not lying about much. Her middle name was Freyja after her mother, and Sömmers was the Germanic spelling of her surname Summers. She just hoped it would be enough to keep Schmidt at bay when he finally found out she spoke.

Almost as if guessing her thoughts, the doctor put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Do not worry, I won't betray you to Schmidt, though if the situation does arise and he threatens you, I'm afraid I won't have much choice."

"I understand" Via nodded, grateful for his honesty. After all, it wasn't his fault he was forced into servitude to that monster.

Seeing her finally relax the doctor reached forwards and began loosening the straps on her arms.

"There, that should help you feel a little more comfortable."

"Thank you …uh…"

"Erskine. Doctor Abraham Erskine"

"Thank you, Doctor Erskine." Via gulped, doing her best to continue breathing as there was a knock at the room door.

Via quickly shut her mouth as two young German soldiers marched into the room, their faces stiff and stern as the doctor straightened up.

"Doctor Erskine! Herr Schmidt is requesting your presence in his office" one of the young men barked.

"Of course, just let me put my gear away and I will be with you" Erskine nodded at the two men, but not before giving a comforting glance down at Via, who remained silent as he left the room.

Once the door had shut behind him and the two men, Via let herself melt back into the metal slab.

She did have the strangest luck in the universe.

Her entire world had fallen apart around her, and she had survived. Then she'd travelled back in time to the second world war, only to be stranded behind Nazi German lines. Then she met the Red Skull, just he wasn't the red skull yet, and now she had met Doctor Erskine himself, the very creator of the super soldier serum that had helped make one of her dearest friends into the hero she knew and fought alongside.

 _So if Schmidt isn't Red Skull yet but the war is still being fought that would mean I landed somewhere uh…wait when did the war start? Oh yeah, 1939. And Steve only became Captain America in 1941…that would mean I'm somewhere in…uh… 1940?_

She frowned to herself turning over her clenched hand to look down into the time stone wrapped deep inside it. It thankfully was not glowing anymore. If anything, it had turned a rather dull greyish green. Perhaps it too was feeling drained.

 _Well, that's just perfect. I've drained an infinity stone after only using it once. Well done Via, well done._

With another heavy sigh, she looked back up at the ceiling wondering just how she was going to get out of this mess.

* * *

Doctor Stephen Strange looked around the space around him.

He was standing in an orange mist, the sky, or air above his head tinged a golden orange. Nobody else was around him.

However, he didn't feel as if he were alone. He looked down over his chest where on a thin chord a small dreamcatcher with blue and red strings about the size of a quarter sat. The magic of the item had long since worn off, but still, he wore it just as proudly as any of his other relics on his person.

 _I hope she's alright._

He wondered quietly as he shut his eyes and did his best to focus on the energies he could feel swirling around him.

Despite his current isolation, he could feel many souls still buzzing around him. It felt rather like being a part of an invisible swarm of bees.

And amidst this swarm one force of great magnitude stuck out like a sore thumb.

 _Damn, he's recovering._

Stephen's fists clenched by his sides as he felt the presence approach him quickly. With a couple of quick sweeps of his hands, the Sorcerer Supreme cast an invisibility spell over himself. No sooner had the spell been cast than did someone all but stumble straight through the mist towards him.

A tall, hulking purple figure, wearing a golden gauntlet.

"I know you're there, Sorcerer." Thanos sneered angrily as Stephen quietly slid back into the mist, still invisible. "You think you're so clever, scattering the stones and sending your little apprentice to search for them. Such a small thing and yet what power she has. It will be amusing to capture her and break her apart. Who knows, maybe I'll free you from this place and let you watch as I snap her neck."

Stephen said nothing, though he felt his gut burn with a fresh wave of hot anger as he watched the mad Titan's lip curl.

"Hide all you want. I will still find you…and I will make you suffer sorcerer, you mark my words."

And with that he vanished in a flash of orange light, leaving the still invisible Doctor Strange alone in the orange mist, scarred hands clenched tight as he prayed silently in his head.

 _God, Olivia, please be alright._

* * *

It had been hours since Via had been taken prisoner by Johann Schmidt.

Shortly after her check-up from Doctor Erskine, a couple of German soldiers barged in carrying what looked like greyish-blue and white striped pyjamas. A chill ran through Via at the sight of the garments, whereupon the left breast she could see a series of letters and numbers stitched into the fabric.

 _Holy crap Via just chill. It's okay. It's just a pair of pyjamas…you're just putting on a pair of pyjamas…normal every day, striped pyjamas with what looks like a serial code stitched into it. Yeah…totally normal…_

She gulped down her nerves as she examined the clothes.

 _Oh, who am I kidding? I'm more screwed than a cockroach in a house about to be fumigated. God, I hope I don't get gassed…_

Turning her back on the soldiers, who didn't look like they'd move anywhere, she got dressed, quickly using a small bit of magic to hook the sling ring with the time stone onto the cord of her dreamcatcher necklace, which she quickly hid under the collar of her shirt.

 _Such perverts._

She bristled uncomfortably as she saw the reflections of her two sentinels in the small mirror on the laboratory table. Both were watching her with hungry licentious eyes. She could only suppose they hadn't gotten laid in a while given that they were fighting in a war.

Still, that didn't mean they had to ogle her like starving lions would a piece of meat.

She was even more disconcerted when they escorted her outside the room, one of them sneaking a small brush of his fingers against her behind. It took all she had not to grab his wrist and snap it in two with her bare fingers.

She was led through what appeared to be a large labyrinthine underground bunker. All around her soldiers and scientists alike were milling about urgently between rooms, arguing, laughing. The sounds were all mingling and melting together even as she and her guards approached a set of stairs.

Quickly she was dragged down several flights, her captors not caring for her comfort nor for her pain as their hands bruised her already aching arms.

They swiftly led her through a door, grey and painted with black letters that spelt out two horrible words.

 _"Test Subjects"? Wow, they really aren't sugar coating anything down here huh?_

Via bit, her lip as she stepped over the threshold only to jolt in fright as something loud clanged to her right.

It was a man, a hunched very malnourished man. He was wearing the same blue and white striped ensemble she was, though unlike her, his skin was chalk white and his equally pale hair was thinning, much like his sanity appeared to be.

Via reeled back as he clawed at her through the bars of his cage, for that was what surrounded him. A pen, with thick, heavy metal bars, much like the ones Via had seen in a documentary about animal poachers. It was so short, the man had to all but double over to stand inside it like an Igor.

It barely had room enough for him to lie across it diagonally let alone straight. In the corner closest to the cage door, she could see two small dog bowls. One was filled with water, the other had the glistening remains of what appeared to be gruel. Or at least she assumed it was gruel, because she could still see bits of it smeared around the hunchback's mouth.

" **Come on, get a move on!** " one of the guards barked in rough German as he shoved her to keep walking ahead of him and his friend.

Via felt her heart sink as she passed by more and more cages, each one just as miserable as the last. Not all prisoners were as manic or as rabid as the first, though Via didn't know if that was worse or not.

Some merely lay or sat catatonic in corners of their cages. Other's, those select few that had space to move, paced up and down, many muttering in hushed almost manic whispers. One man was sitting with his back towards her, slowly and repeatedly bashing his head against the bars of his cage and groaning.

But the one thing that caught Via's attention more than anything was the fact that they were all men.

 _So that's why Schmidt's keeping me alive…He needs a female test subject for whatever…whatever he's doing to these poor guys…_

She gulped as she was led into a cage at the far end of the room. Thankfully it was one of the bigger ones, with just enough room for her to stand, even if it wasn't wide enough for her to lie flat on her back.

 _OW!_

She scowled back at one of her guards he roughly shoved her into the bars at the back, chuckling amusedly as she rubbed her now bruised forehead.

 _Jerk_!

She snarled at him as he shut the door to her cell and walked off with his fellow guard back down the length of the room. Via felt her stomach turn over in disgust as the pair of men started harassing one of the other inmates, a thin skeletal figure that sat drooling and moaning on the floor in a haze.

 _Jesus just what the hell are they doing to these men?_

There was a grunt beside her, and Via jumped, only to see one of her fellow inmates staring at her with unblinking sleep-deprived eyes.

Via quickly turned away, doing her best to avoid his stare as she shuffled over to the farthest corner of her cage. She sat down quickly, curling her head into her knees and shutting her eyes, willing herself to take deep even breaths.

If she could block out all these horrible sounds, then maybe, just maybe, she could get some sleep, rest for a little bit and figure out what she was going to do to escape.

No matter how hard she tried, her head was just a whir of doubt and fear.

 _What can I do? What the hell can I do? My powers are drained, and I'm imprisoned in the nuthouse by one of the biggest psychopaths in existence with no help whatsoever. There's no way I'm going to get out of this any time soon._

Or so she thought.

For little did she know, that somewhere in the floors above Doctor Abraham Erskine was talking with someone in the shadows of a dark corridor.

* * *

"An American? Are you sure?" a feminine posh British accent hissed in the dark.

"I'm positive. There's no mistaking her accent." the doctor paused as he looked at the shadow. "I'm guessing by your surprise she's not one of your allies?"

"No, I was the only one sent in to infiltrate this base." The woman, muttered thoughtfully "But you don't think she's another spy?"

"If she is then she can't be a very good one" Erskine snorted "She might not have said a word to Schmidt, but when he questioned her, her face was an open book. Then again, she was smart enough to give me a fake name when we talked, so perhaps she might pull through yet."

The woman's shadow paused and hummed quietly to herself.

Finally, after a minute or so she asked:

"When is your next appointment with her?"

"Tomorrow morning" Erskine frowned "But you'll have to wait till later to meet her face to face. Schmidt will be there; he wants to break her silence as soon as possible."

"We cannot let that happen," the woman said firmly "Once he finds out she is American he'll all but flay her alive."

"I know. I'll try to keep him occupied-"

There was a thump on the other side of a wall.

"Quick you must leave before you are discovered" Erskine whispered hurriedly to the woman who nodded briskly as she made her way towards the door.

"I'll meet with you tomorrow night. Till then stay safe and keep an eye on the girl"

"I will. Good luck" Erskine nodded, but already the woman had disappeared out of sight down the corridor.

* * *

When Via woke up next it was to the loud cacophony of metal banging upon metal.

Wincing she opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of another German guard standing outside her cell door. One of them was carrying a dog bowl, filled with lumpy gruel. There wasn't even a spoon.

 _What the hell does he expect me to do? Bury my face in it and eat like a dog?_

Via glared at him venomously as he all but tossed the bowl through a horizontal flap set into the bottom of the cage door, spilling some of the food to the floor.

He wasn't the only one. His fellow guard all but flung the bowl through one of the narrow bars in the cage opposite her, narrowly missing its occupant who was quick to rush to lick at the gluggy spilt remains on the floor.

For the hundredth time since she'd arrived at this hellhole, Via's stomach began churning with anger.

It was one thing to be locked in a cage, but to be treated like an animal…

 _No…keep it together girl you've got work to do today._

And by work she meant, find a way out of this cell. So, it was with very cautious hands she took the bowl of gruel from the floor and held it up to her mouth, sipping at one of the edges carefully.

Her guard blinked in surprise at her as she managed to sip at her bowl in a dignified manner. She smirked as she caught sight of his disappointment as she paused to dab at the corners of her mouth in a ladylike fashion before resuming her eating.

When she was done, she slid the bowl through the hole at the guard's feet and sat back down, crossing her legs as she assumed a lotus position and shut her eyes.

She'd barely recovered any of her energy, but if she was going to survive here behind enemy lines, she'd need to do this spell, and do it soon before Schmidt could figure out what she really was.

She'd only ever done this spell successfully once before, and even then it had been a struggle to get right.

She waited until both the guards had left the prison before quickly turning to face the wall just next to the bars of her cell.

 _God, I hope this works._

"Eaque cum altera per os meum lingua opens, ut de hac terra potest audivit, et scriptus est [By this spell when next my mouth opens, may the language of this land be heard, written and spoken]"* she whispered, raising her hands to her mouth. She sucked in a deep breath, so deep she could feel the energy seep down into her very toes, before exhaling gently.

From her mouth, a blue mist spread out onto fingers and palms, which she quickly passed over her throat and ears and all over her face, inhaling it as she went.

She could feel her body deflating even as the last vesper of blue mist was sucked into her nose and gulped down into her lungs.

She knew it had worked, for at that moment she heard the door to the dungeon clang open and several voices starting to bark.

At first, all she heard was garbled rough German, then slowly but surely as she opened her eyes and turned to face the source of the noise, she heard it.

"-get the girl into the cuffs. Quick! Or else Herr Schmidt will have our heads!"

It was strange; she noticed as she allowed her new posse of guards to drag her out of the cell. She could hear the German words as she had before, yet when they arrived in her head, they did so in perfect English.

She was going to have to be careful when talking between the Germans and the allies now; she snorted to herself as she was forced up a set of stairs. For now, when she spoke, they'd all be able to understand her, no matter whether she was addressing friend or foe.

She made no sound as she was led out a set of doors and into what appeared to be the small but lavish hall at the end of which stood a grand winding staircase. Wherever her prison was situated must've been an underground bunker to some fancy manor house or something.

Priceless paintings, sculptures and decorations adorned the walls. She could've sworn she'd seen a priceless Da Vinci masterpiece as she ascended the staircase with her guards.

Finally, after ascending the staircase, they were quick to be shown to a grand study, lined with bookcases and antique furniture.

But Olivia had no time to admire the room as she was shoved towards the large oak desk behind which Johann Schmidt sat. He struck an intimidating figure as he leaned back slowly in his leather seat, dictating a letter to a gorgeous blonde German female officer in a black skirt and uniform, while a brunette maid cleaned the fireplace behind his desk.

 _So not only a Fascist pig, but a creepy one too._

Via rolled her eyes as she noticed said pig's eyes were roving over the stockinged legs of the blonde military woman, who stopped quickly as the guards and Via approached the desk.

"Sir, the girl, is here as requested" one of the guards grunted shoving Via in front of him so that she came into view.

Behind Schmidt, the brunette maid looked up, and Via felt her gut jolt. She knew that face. Darn it! It looked so familiar but she just couldn't-

She was quickly pulled out of her thoughts as Schmidt suddenly barked to the room at large in German.

"That will be all Gerda, you may return to your desk and finish the rest of those files. Eva!" he snapped at the maid who stood quickly to her feet, scuttle and brush in hand and head bowed to avoid attention. "Attend to the fireplace in our guest's room and then return here in two hours to finish your work."

"Of course, sir" the maid, Eva, bobbed her head as she passed Via by, so quickly that her face was a blur, much to the younger girl's frustration.

"Leave us" Schmidt coughed at her guards who hesitated, but were swift to leave their leader and prisoner alone.

Via wished they would've stayed. The silence that filled the room after they left was deafening, and it wasn't helped by Schmidt staring her down like a carrion bird gazing at a dead carcass.

"So…my guards tell me you still refuse to speak?" Schmidt smirked in English as he stepped around her.

Via said nothing, but she kept her eyes trained on him as he began to circle her, looking her form up and down. Not that she could see any reason why he would, especially since the prison pyjamas she wore did nothing to flatter her shape.

"Yet you certainly are not mute. Doctor Erskine checked your throat and mouth and found no signs of damage, so I must assume you're keeping your silence out of sheer will." he smirked as he stepped around her back "You cannot be German, or at least speak German, for if you could you would try to use that to your advantage. So then what are you? French?"

He then proceeded to ask her a question in French, much to her dismay. She had always sucked at French. Even in high school, she'd never gotten good marks in it, and the spell she had just cast downstairs only worked to let her understand German (and even then its effects were only temporary).

She had not considered that he might try to use other European languages. Thanks to her sorcery education she was fluent in Latin, but who bothered to speak that anymore? The only other foreign language she was semi-fluent in was Spanish, but what use would Spanish be here in Nazi Germany?

"Not French? Then again I should've expected that." Schmidt snorted under his breath "No…you speak English. I am sure of it. You are not British. You're not pompous and proud enough for that. American then…" he paused to examine her face.

To her credit, Via managed to keep a blank neutral expression, though her fists were clenched tight into her sides. She could feel the time-stone sling ring in her pocket, warm from her body heat, but otherwise inactive and thankfully unnoticed by anyone.

"Still not talking?" Schmidt sneered, and she could see the irritation mounting in his eyes as he loomed over her.

She met his piercing gaze with what she hoped was resolute determination, though some of her fear must've shown because he chuckled softly in her face.

"Stubborn American it is. Yet these trinkets" he reached out to grab her left wrist where her dragon bracelet glimmered "Nordic runes, with spells of protection. A queer thing for an American to wield, unless your family came from Scandinavia…hmm…now that I look at you, your face does look extraordinarily familiar…"

 _Oh crap-oh crap-oh freaking crap…_

Via sucked in a sharp breath and shivered as he stroked a gloved hand over the shape of her face.

"Of course, how could I have not seen it before." He murmured in awe as he tilted her head to the side by the chin to examine her profile. "Golden hair, fair skin, those fine cheekbones, though you have yet to grow out of all your puppy fat" he added with a smirk as he stepped back. "Yes…yes that would explain the strange clothes…Yes…You are the spitting image of Lord Leif Sorenson."

 _Damn…_

Via shut her eyes. God how she hated her mother's family sometimes. She'd lost count of how many times their strong genetic resemblance had gotten her into trouble with her enemies.

 _And Stephen wonders why I still like to use Summers as my surname? Tch!_

She sighed as she opened her eyes, only to find Schmidt had stepped away and was leaning back against his desk, appraising her with a calculating stare.

"Hmm…A Sorenson under my very roof…though obviously, you are not one of the main family, not with those eyes of yours" he pointed to her bright blue eyes. "No…the true Sorenson always has the grey eyes. You must be one of Lord Sorenson's sister's spawn then. I heard she settled not too long ago in America herself."

Despite herself, Via couldn't help but let out a derisive snort under her breath.

The asshole! If only he knew who he was talking to. Her mother was the direct descendant of Lief Sorenson and thus so was she. She was perhaps the closest thing to a pure Sorenson, Schmidt was ever going to meet face to face. Not that she could ever tell anyone.

And thus the interrogation continued.

For two hours Via stood there maintaining her silence while Schmidt tried to guess more about her identity.

Shortly after his discovery of her family name, his questions began to drag on slowly, and his aggravation was starting to show. So it came to be, two hours after she'd first arrived in his care...

"For the last time girl, I ORDER YOU TO SPEAK!"

Via winced as she was shoved up against the hard marble on the side of the fireplace mantlepiece. She could feel her arms beginning to bruise from where he had gripped her arms. He might not have had the super serum yet, but he was still a strong man.

It took all she had not to act on instinct and kick him in the balls as he snarled down at her.

 _No…I gotta keep my mouth shut._

She gritted her teeth as one of his hands wrapped around her throat, yet before he could make the squeeze, there was a knock at the door.

"Herr Schmidt!" the lady officer, Gerda's voice called through the door. "Doctor's Zola and Erskine are here for your meeting."

"Send them in!" Schmidt barked, and as the door opened, he threw her to the rug covered floor.

She landed with a hard thud, her head hitting the floor hard. But that wasn't important. Swiftly as she dared, she quickly snatched the time stone sling ring from the carpet and stuffed it into her pyjama pocket, thanking her lucky stars that Schmidt was focused on the entrance of the two doctors.

Erskine had not changed since yesterday, though the bruises around his wrists had lessened ever so slightly. He looked very uncomfortable as he stood side by side with Doctor Zola, a short round slimy faced man who somewhat reminded Via of a bloodsucking leech.

"Herr Schmidt" Zola simpered in a high pitched nasally whine "I do hope we weren't interrupting?"

"Not at all, Doctor. I was wrapping up with this one" Schmidt spat as he walked over to a drinks cabinet to his left and poured himself some whiskey. "A stubborn little mule, then again, I should've expected nothing less from a Sorenson."

"A Sorenson?" Erskine's eyes widened as he glanced down worriedly at Via on the floor "surely you don't mean like Lord Sorenson, the man-"

"Who gave me this during the battle of Trondheim last year. Yes", Schmidt gruffly pointed to the small dark badge pinned to his uniform close to the Iron Cross. Via recognised it at once as an old German Wound Badge.

"But don't you worry, I will soon pay him back in kind soon enough." He sneered down at Via who bit her lip as she caught sight of the savage gleam in his dark eyes. "I do hope you live up to your family name miss Sorenson. You've come so far with her stubbornness, it would be such a shame if you were to break so soon."

He looked up at Erskine who stiffened under his gaze.

"Take her out of my sight, get her cleaned up and prepare her for the first round of tests. Zola, stay here, I need to talk with you about yesterday's experiments."

"Of course sir" Zola smirked, though his beady eyes lingered on Via with malicious curiosity as she was helped off the floor gently by Erskine, who was quick to usher her out of the room.

Once they were down the corridor and out of sight and hearing, he whispered in her ear.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so" Via whispered as she was led into what appeared to be a small suite.

It was mostly bare, save for the bare amenities like a bed, a fireplace, a writing desk and a wardrobe with a working bath and toilet in the next room.

"These are my quarters, we can talk freely in here" Erskine muttered as he shut the door behind her. "But first free to use the bathroom to refresh yourself."

"Th-thank you, but you don't have to-" Via stuttered but Erskine stopped her and shoved a towel into her hands.

"Trust me, miss Somers you're better off bathing up here than down there. Those mongrels guarding you haven't had a woman in months, I wouldn't put it past them to try their luck with you no matter what Schmidt's orders are."

Via was about to roll her eyes in irritation but stopped short as she caught sight of the severe look of the doctor's face. He wasn't overprotective; he was stating pure cold hard facts.

If those men down there were willing to feed her like an animal, what was stopping them from forcing her on all fours and taking her like a dog in heat?

"Thank you doctor" she sighed gratefully before rushing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Stephen Strange opened his eyes and stared around the Soul Stone Dimension.

All was quiet. Nothing moved amidst the orange mist that surrounded him.

Thanos had given up in searching for him…at least for now, yet there was still nothing Stephen could do to escape this hell hole. Nonetheless, he would try.

Until then he would keep watch over the soul of his ward, whom he had to admit was thankfully not in too much danger…just yet.

 _But how long will her luck hold out I wonder?_

The Sorcerer Supreme sighed to himself as he floated sitting cross-legged in the air.

His blood boiled as he remembered the cage he'd watched her sleep in on her first night.

He knew it would be difficult watching her go through this, but it didn't quite hit him just how much she was going to suffer, and this was only the beginning of her mission!

 _I'm so sorry Olivia. I swear when all this is over, I will make it up to you._

 _Stephen?_ He heard a voice echo in his head. _Stephen is that you?_

He shut his eyes and at once was visited by a vision of none other than Olivia Summers. She was sitting in a bathtub, eyes closed as she focused her energy on the Time Stone, she'd embedded into her sling ring that rested over her fingers.

 _I'm right here Olivia. Where are you?_

 _Erskine's bath. He's letting me use it, so I won't have to be uh…bathed by the dumbass guards' downstairs. What's going on? Why can I hear you in my head?_

 _I am in the soul stone. And you can hear me because of our connection through the Time Stone._ Stephen sighed in relief.

 _I saw Schmidt interrogating you, how are you holding up?_

 _Lousy_. Via admitted quietly. _Honestly, Stephen, I don't know how much longer I can keep quiet around him. If I keep going like this, I'm sure he's going to kill me out of sheer frustration._

 _Just hold your ground you'll do fine._ Stephen assured her gently, though she could feel the worry radiating off him in waves.

 _Don't worry; I'm watching you all the way, I won't let anything happen to you._

 _You can't promise me that._ Via shook her head in exasperation, and Stephen rolled his eyes.

 _Oh yeah, watch me._

 _You worry wart. Seriously one of these days-_

Via suddenly opened her eyes stopped.

Stephen stiffened as he felt a rush of her fear flood from her mind into his.

 _Olivia?_

 _Someone else is here._ And with that, he felt the connection between then suddenly snap to a close.

And not a moment too soon.

There was the thundering of footsteps nearby, and Stephen looked up just in time to see the dark hulking silhouette appear only in the distance through the mist.

Swiftly as a shadow, Stephen vanished yet again, cursing his luck as the Mad Titan approached his hiding spot nostrils flared with anger.

"I'm impressed you've still got the energy to hide Sorcerer" Thanos sneered to the mist. "I was sure your human form wouldn't be able to stand much more use of your magic like this"

 _That makes two of us_

Stephen snorted as he drifted to hide in another part of the soul world, his body juddering as the pressure of the cloaking spell began to leach into his dwindling reserves of energy.

He had to find help soon and fast. Most of the souls in here were unconscious and unmoving, not quite alive and sentient like he, yet also not dead. He had yet to meet another soul like himself who was conscious that could help him. That just begged the question…how was he awake?

Was it because he had touched an infinity stone? If that were so that would explain why Thanos too was one of the few beings awake. Obviously, the two of them couldn't be the only handlers of the stones, so that just begged the question who else could be awake.

 _It looks like I have a bit of soul searching to do._

He smirked at his bad pun, his chest stinging as he imagined Via delivering one of her infamous annoyed eye rolls at him.

 _She'll get through this. We all will._

* * *

To say that Via was surprised to hear Stephen Strange's voice in her head was an understatement. She had merely been focusing her energy upon her time stone sling ring, or as she was now going to call it the Time Ring.

She was trying to focus on its energies, try to attune herself to sense their specific essence. If she could learn to detect it from a distance, then at least if she lost it she'd have some chance of being able to find it.

What she had not expected was to be able to communicate with the soul of her missing foster father slash mentor who was stuck in another dimension.

 _Then again Stephen did say the Time stone transcended space-time. Maybe it can negate the Soul stone's powers too?_

Via cupped some of the bath water into her hands and looked down into her faint reflection.

 _But if that's the case then maybe there's a chance I can go back and free everyone instead…but no that won't work. The time stone only connects me to Stephen because of our bond…I'd probably need something like the space stone to travel between worlds…_

She sighed heavily as she let the water drop back into the bathtub and trailed her finger over the surface.

At once it stilled under her touch, its colour instantly darkening as several shapes became visible in it. Forms that weren't reflections from the room around it.

A green stoned ring in her hand. An amber stone in a golden gauntlet worn by a giant purple arm. A purple stone encased in a silvery orb. A swirling red and black mass, hidden in a dark chasm. A yellow stone hidden in a blue gem set in a golden sceptre held on a tall plinth — a blue cube, hidden behind the eye of a stone serpent at the base of a tree.

She knew all these sights well, but it was the seventh shape that eluded her. Unlike the others which were all clear images before her eyes, this one was blurred and distorted.

There was a sharp knock on the bathroom door, and she all but jumped in the bathwater.

"Ahem! Excuse me miss, would you come out, please. There is someone here who'd like to speak to you" Doctor Erskine called through the door, he sounded very urgent.

Quick as a flash, Via stood up and dried herself off with the towel and drained the bathtub. She glanced up at the small clock that hung on the wall furthest from her.

 _Damn…took too long. But it felt so good._

She grumbled to herself as she rung out her damp golden curls and put her drab prisoner uniform back on. Once she was done with the slippers, she opened the door a crack and peered outside curiously.

Erskine was standing in the room with his back towards her facing a woman. A maid. The very same maid that had cleaning the fireplace in Schmidt's office. Now that she was closer and her face was no longer obscured or bent down to the ground, Via could see her face clearly, and boy did it look eerily familiar.

 _No…f-ing…way!_

She had a lovely face that was both stern and yet kind. Her brown curls were tied back in a bun away from her face, and her brown eyes were shrewd as they glanced at the bathroom door.

Erskine turned around to follow her gaze and smiled gently as he caught sight of Via's wide eyes.

"Ah, good there you are. I was wondering if you'd fallen asleep."

"I-I didn't" _though I was sorely tempted to._ Via finished in her head as she sidled through the bathroom door and shut it tight behind her.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were uh…expecting company?" she glanced at Erskine in confusion.

"He wasn't" the brunette maid gave her a small smile "But given your circumstances, I felt that I should meet with you as soon as possible, Miss Freyja Somers?"

She spoke in fluent English, no not just fluent. Her voice was so British, posh and polished that even the brass doorknobs seemed dull in comparison. It certainly made Via's New York accent sound rough and coarse in comparison as she croaked.

"Wait-how did you-how did she?" she glanced helplessly to Erskine for help.

"You didn't tell her?" the maid turned to Erskine with vague annoyance.

"I haven't had much time to" Erskine rolled his eyes, "I told you, Schmidt's had me working all night."

"I guess we'll have to make do" the woman sighed and strode over to Via.

"What's your name? Your real name, not the fake name you gave Doctor Erskine."

"…Olivia…Olivia Strange! Mam." Via spluttered her gut sinking in her stomach at the once again hopeless lie. Though technically she wasn't lying. She was Stephen's adoptive daughter. Legally she could take his name if she wanted to.

"Strange? Are you sure?" the woman quirked her brow with narrowed eyes "Because I distinctly heard Schmidt calling you a Sorenson."

"I-I…" Oh great, Via thought wildly. How on earth was she going to lie her way out of this one? If she said she was a Sorenson, she might be able to receive help from her family's allies. However, what if by revealing her identity, she completely derailed her family bloodline? What if she ended up erasing her unborn self by accident?

 _Oh god, what do I do? What do I do?_

She bit her lip, fingering the Time ring in her pocket, feeling a warm flash of energy course through her. She shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, feeling the infinity stone give her a small nudge in the back of her mind.

She didn't have to lie completely. She just had to lie enough so that it didn't screw with anything.

"I don't know." She said at last after a pause.

"You don't know?" the woman deadpanned, and Via nodded, not even believing herself as she blurted out.

"No mam. I-I was an orphan. I never knew who my family was."

"I see…" but the woman didn't look too convinced. "And the name Strange-"

"That's the uh…name of the man who adopted and raised me" Via answered with more surety. "He uh…died a-a few months ago. His name was uh…Wong…Wong Strange"

She gulped down the lump in her throat this time to keep herself from pissing her pants with laughter. Again, it wasn't a complete falsehood, then still it wasn't a whole truth either. Both Stephen and Wong had been raising her since she'd started living at the New York Sanctum Sanctorum nearly three years ago. But to mesh the two of them together into a single entity in her head was just so wrong on so many hilarious levels.

 _Oh god Sorry Stephen, sorry Wong._

"Wong Strange? I…see…" the woman sighed heavily. However, she thankfully did not pursue the matter further, though that may have been because she was disturbed by the chiming of an old tall grandfather clock set in a dark corner of the room.

"We're running low on time." The woman muttered darkly turning her attention back to Via. "Olivia, tell me. Just how badly do you want to escape this place?"

"That depends. How soon you can get me outta here?" Via folded her arms "Also I gotta ask, what's a Brit like yourself doing here under Schmidtty's nose? You obviously aren't here to clean his chimney's."

"I most certainly am not" the woman sniffed haughtily

"I still don't know your name." Via interrupted glancing at the clock. She could feel the Time stone nudging her with its magic as if trying to warn her about something.

 _We must be running out of time._

Via chewed on her cheek as the woman scanned her face as if wondering if she could trust her. It was a full half minute before she spoke again, her voice quiet as she stepped towards the younger girl.

"My name is Peggy Carter, And I am your best ticket out of here, Olivia Strange."

* * *

 **So here is chapter 2 of Dream-Wanderer.**

 **Very long I know, but I was trying to cram a lot of information in here. So yeah, Via lands first in the events of the original Captain America movie. Actually it's sorta starts before the movie, just when Agent Peggy Carter is rescuing Erskine and bringing him back to the US and just before Red Skull becomes, well, Red Skull. I figured it would be an interesting place to start as many OC's who drop into the Captain America movie tend to be there in Brooklyn.**

 **As for Via's OC ancestors, the Sorenson's, are aristocrats from Norway, and yes they have a very strong genetic resemblance (hence why Via hates using her family name). I figured since Via is good at telling the truth and shit at lying she'd have to either keep her mouth shut if she was going to have a chance facing Schmidt for the first time, especially since he was the head of a villainous organization and he'd probably be able to spot a liar from several miles away.**

 **Then there's also the deal with the Soul Stone. I'm pretty much, making shit up as I go because let's face it, we don't know what's going to go on in the MCU's Soul stone pocket dimension so really anything goes. I'd like to think that Stephen Strange could use his magic inside the pocket dimension, but can't use it to get out, if only becuase it could make things very interesting later on ;)**

 **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed and please review your thoughts and ideas for later chapters. I'm always open for suggestions.**

 **Cheers,**

 **FuzzyBeta**


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